Updated 09/01/2010 08:39 AM
NYPD Locates, Suspends Officer Who Allegedly Denied First Aid To Dying Girl
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Police have tracked down and suspended an officer accused of refusing to help a Brooklyn girl dying from an asthma attack last Friday.
The mother of Briana Ojeda, 11, says she was rushing her daughter to the hospital by driving the wrong way down a one-way street, when a policeman pulled her over in Boerum Hill.
The New York City Police Department identified the officer Tuesday as Alfonso Mendez, 30, of the 84th Precinct, which borders the area where the incident happened.
Carmen Ojeda says Mendez told her he didn't know CPR, and refused to help.
The girl later died at the hospital. Her funeral is this morning.
"He could have been a hero, but he chose to be a coward," said Briana's aunt Damaris Ojeda-Melendres. "If he did not know CPR, he could have provided an escort to the hospital that was just a short distance away."
Mendez is a five-year veteran of the force. Sources say he has been suspended without pay for failing to take proper police action.
Police Commissioner Ray Kelly says all NYPD officers are trained in CPR, and have radios to call for ambulances.